(Isla)
I woke before sunrise.
The symbols were the first thing I thought about.
I'd gone to sleep expecting my mind to leave them behind until morning. Instead, they'd stayed with me, simple circles and lines that somehow felt more important now than they had in the library.
I lay still for a moment, looking at the ceiling.
Today wasn't about finding another old record or reading another forgotten account. Today we would find out whether those pages held something we could actually use. I didn't know what to expect, and for once, that didn't bother me.
I turned my head toward the window.
The first light of morning was beginning to reach the room. Everything outside was still quiet, as though Wraithbone itself hadn't fully woken yet. It felt like the right kind of morning to begin so
